RITA K. SINGH, ASSISTANT, THE NEW INDIA ASSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED Vs. THE NEW INDIA ASSURANCE COMPANY LTD. AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner challenges the order terminating her from the services on account of the cancellation of the Caste Certificate. The petitioner had obtained a Scheduled Caste Certificate and secured an appointment with the respondent-Corporation in the year 1987 against a post reserved for a scheduled caste candidate. The certificate had been issued on the basis of the law then prevailing that by her marriage to a person, who had belonged to a Scheduled Caste, she was assimilated into Schedule Caste status by her marriage. The law was restated by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Valsamma Paul (Mrs) v. Cochin University and others., 1996 AIR(SC) 1011 that held that "caste" is determined by birth and by a matrimony with a person belonging to a scheduled caste, a nonscheduled caste spouse cannot obtain to such status. In the light of the existing law on an enquiry undertaken, it was found that a Caste Certificate produced by her could not have been acted upon and the Caste Certificate issued could not any longer subsist in view of the law expressed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court. The petitioner's contention is that there had been no concealment of the fact that she had not been born as a Scheduled Caste but married to a scheduled caste spouse and was accorded to such a status by her matrimony. If subsequently, the cancellation arose by the change of law and that was why while adverting to an alleged allegation of harassment by the Corporation levelled by the petitioner, it was responded to by the Chief Regional Manager himself that the petitioner did not conceal the fact, but the matter remained that by the settled law, a person could not take the benefit of SC/ST status only by virtue of marriage.

(2.) The learned senior counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner contends that if it was an admitted fact that the petitioner had not secured a benefit by any false certificate at that time when it was issued and it turned out to be a certificate that cannot be sustained in view of the change of the legal position, the benefit of admission into the service of the Corporation cannot be denied. The learned counsel refers to the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Dattu son of Namdev Thakur v. State of Maharashtra and others, in S.L.P. (Civil) No. 3314 of 2010, decided on 07.12.2011 where a three member Bench of the Hon'ble Supreme Court was considering the fact of cancellation of certificate during service and the manner of consideration of continuation in employment status, when the cancellation was not brought through any fraud or misrepresentation. The Hon'ble Supreme Court was considering along with two other cases, who had secured admission into educational institutions on the basis of Caste Certificates which were subsequently withdrawn. The Hon'ble Supreme Court held in para 9 as follows:-

(3.) The Hon'ble Supreme Court was, therefore, allowing for continuation in employment of the person whose certificate had been withdrawn and had only denied such a candidate the benefit of taking any future advantage of reservation in future. In the present context, I would hold that the denial of the caste status could be attached only to any further career prospects for promotion which are reserved for Schedule Caste candidates or any other benefit that she could take on such a status. With these observations, the writ petition is allowed. The petitioner will be entitled to all the consequential benefits, but as regards the back wages, she will not be entitled to any salary for the period when she did not work.